The Dragon Oracles: Omnibus Edition (The Eastern Kingdom Omnibus Book 1)

by T. J. Garrett

  Olam drew the waterskin away from his lips. “Yes, east.”

  “How long have you known him?” Grady persisted.

  Olam sighed.

  The newcomer seemed a kindly man, and quite a talkative one, too, but Gialyn had a feeling he was trying to decide what to say without appearing rude.

  “A long time, Grady,” Olam said. “Since before you were born, judging by the look of you.”

  Grady’s jaw dropped. A resounding mixture of oohs and ahhs circled the fire.

  “How did y—”

  “Sir, I am sorry,” Olam interrupted, “but Arfael can speak for himself. I do not feel comfortable talking about him in his absence.”

  “That’s all right, Olam.” Arfael’s booming voice came from beyond the tree line. He walked up into the firelight, his every move keenly followed by the Albergeddians. “We are together for two months. They can know some.”

  Arfael sat next to his friend and picked up his bowl of what looked like cheese and some kind of bread.

  Olam nodded. “If you are sure.”

  Arfael nodded back.

  The Albergeddians, including Gialyn, put down their plates and turned their attention to Olam.

  “I met Arfael around fifty years ago, in—”

  “Uh… beg your pardon, sir,” Elspeth interrupted, “but you barely look fifty. He definitely doesn’t.” She pointed a finger at Arfael.

  Olam smiled. “We all have our stories, my dear. But, alas, I can only tell one at a time.”

  Elspeth nodded apologetically.

  Olam carried on. “I came across Arfael fifty years ago. My bridle had snapped, and Arfael was working as a blacksmith. He lived in a small camp near Barais’gin, twelve miles east of Aldregair, almost on the coast. As soon as we met, I felt a bond. At the time, I could not explain the feeling and chose to ignore it. Later, one of the villagers told me not to bother with Arfael, he said his mind had been broken, and that after a week Arfael would not remember me or what we had spoken about. I chose to ignore the villager. I st—”

  “Why?” Elspeth asked.

  “Later, Elspeth,” Olam said.

  Again, Elspeth apologised.

  Olam continued, “I stayed and we talked. Indeed, I stayed for nearly a week, but then I had to leave.

  “It was not until five years later that my travels brought me back to the Eastern Ridges. I went to see Arfael as soon as I arrived. And to our mutual astonishment, he remembered me! Why he remembers me, I do not fully understand. But as time passed by, a strong bond developed between us. We decided to travel, see if we could solve the mystery of who he was and where he came from.”

  “Sir,” Daric said. “If you don’t mind, I have a question.”

  “Please, my friend, ask away,” Olam said, reaching for what was left of his fish supper.

  “You said you did not fully understand why he only remembers you… but you do have an idea why, don’t you?”

  Olam laughed. “You are indeed a guardsman, Daric, and a man of sharp wit, if I may say so.” He bowed. “Yes, you are right, I have an idea why he remembers me, but, my friend, that is a different story… and quite long. I shall keep it to myself, perhaps for another day.”

  “As you wish,” Daric said. “I won’t impose, sir.”

  “So when you say ‘mystery,’” Grady asked, “what do you mean, exactly? What answers do you seek?”

  “The same answers you asked yourself the moment you saw him, Grady,” Olam answered. “Where does he come from? Does he have kin? What of his homeland? All the simple things every living soul should have answers to.”

  “Why is he so big?” Ealian asked.

  “Ealian!” Elspeth stared scornfully at her brother and slapped him on the shoulder. “That’s just rude.”

  “No, it’s not,” Ealian said, rubbing his shoulder. “It’s a perfectly legitimate question.”

  Arfael let out a deep, slow laugh which filled the small clearing. The ground seemed to shudder under his monotonic chuckle. The sound set the others off, and once again, the camp was full of laughter.

  “Have you tried Bailryn?” Daric asked. “I would think the capital would be a good place to look for answers. There are almost as many folks living there as in the rest of Aleras’moya combined… if you include the outer villages.”

  Arfael stopped laughing. He gave Olam a glance which made Gialyn shudder. Evidently, his father’s questions had dragged up some bad memories.

  “We have had, shall we say, some bad experiences when around large groups of people,” Olam explained. “The human predilection for fearing what they do not understand tends to get in the way of meaningful discourse.”

  “Uh?” Gialyn scratched his head. He gazed vacantly at Olam. “I did not understand any of that.”

  “He means people can be stupid,” Daric said. “I’m sorry if I brought up painful memories, Arfael. Please accept my apology.”

  Arfael nodded. “No harm done, sir.”

  “Can we go back to the age thing?” Elspeth asked. “Do you know how old you are?” She directed her question at Arfael.

  Arfael shook his head. “Not sure. At the cave since I woke up. I think it was a long time,” he said in his usual single-syllable manner.

  Olam helped answer Elspeth’s question. “He lived at Barais’gin for a good thirty years before I found him. That was as far back as the locals could recollect. Nobody knows where he came from. And like Arfael said, he just… woke up, no memory of his past or how he came to be there.”

  “That would make you at least eighty,” Elspeth said. She put a hand to her chest and looked agape at the others. “By the gods, I hope I look that good when I’m… uh… not that I… or that… Oh, never mind.” She covered her face to hide a blush.

  Again, laughter rang around their clearing.

  Arfael sat with a smile on his lips which did not quite reach his eyes. He seemed a man out of place among friends, as though sharing laughter and companionship were as alien to him as his appearance was to the rest of the travellers.

  Gialyn was laughing, too. Not merely because of Elspeth’s embarrassment, but at the place he found himself. This is good, he thought. Maybe this trip was the right thing to do, after all. Meeting new people, seeing the land, Elspeth…

  Yet just as he felt most content with his lot, doubt entered his mind. He caught a glance shared between Olam and Arfael – a hint at some hidden secret, perhaps. What weren’t they saying?

  The rest of the evening passed quickly. The day’s toil seemed to have left everyone defenceless against the fast-approaching slumber. Ealian and Elspeth spoke for a brief while before turning in. Daric and Grady spent some time reckoning their supplies. Olam and Arfael went through what for them was probably a well-rehearsed ritual of sleeping under the stars. The camp settled, and all went soundly off to sleep. Only Gialyn lay restless, remembering the sound of his mother’s crying was playing on his mind – that, and his vicinity to Elspeth’s bed. He tossed, turned, and rearranged his blanket at least a dozen times before sleep finally, mercifully, caught him.

  CHAPTER 10

  Olam’s Blessing

  Gialyn woke to the sound of laughter. Rising to see what all the fuss was about, he noticed Elspeth emerging from the trees with two rabbits and something which looked like a large pigeon hanging from the thumb-thick branch she was carrying. It appeared she had risen early and gone hunting for breakfast. The laughter had come from Olam, who was giving Elspeth a round of applause.

  “Oh, it’s nothing.” She waved off Olam’s praise. “The woods are full of game. Anyone could catch their breakfast around here,” she said, then gave Gialyn a haughty grin.

  “Wonderful,” Gialyn muttered. “I’m on an adventure with the warrior princess.” And why look at me with your ‘Anyone could catch their breakfast in these woods’? I know how to set a snare!

  Haughty or not, Elspeth had skinned, portioned and cleaned one of the rabbits before Gialyn had packed up his bedro
ll.

  There she is, leaning over a fire, cooking rabbit portions, and here I am, struggling to tie a piece of string. Oh well, maybe she’s scared of spiders or something. A grin creased his lips. He shook it off. She would not be scared of spiders, not Elspeth “The Huntress” Tanner.

  Gialyn sat and watched as Elspeth cooked the rabbit portions and then place the pan by the fire to keep it warm. She had all her cooking tools neatly laid around her. Leaning back, she dragged a waterskin from the pile near the firewood, then poured some water into a large kettle. “Does anybody want any rabbit?” Sitting back on her heels, she looked around the camp before fixing her attention on Olam.

  “Ah… rabbit… a bit much for me in the morning, my dear,” Olam said. “But I would not mind a cup of tea… if that is what the water is for.” He pointed at the kettle Elspeth had placed at the edge of the fire. “And if there is honey…?”

  “I’ll have some rabbit,” Ealian said. Elspeth’s brother kicked off his blanket and pulled his not-so-white shirt over his head.

  “Yes, count me in, too.” Grady shouted his request from the stream where he was busy washing.

  “Do you want any, Mr. Arfael?” Elspeth asked.

  Arfael was eating more of the cheese-like substance he had brought with him. His mouth was full. Elspeth got a nod and a muffled “No, thank you.”

  Elspeth dished up two portions, then looked around the camp. “Where has Mr. Re’adh got to?”

  “I’m here.”

  Daric emerged from the trees holding a rabbit by its ears. His shoulders sank when he saw what Elspeth was doing. “Seems we don’t need this one,” he said, holding up the much smaller rabbit he had caught.

  “Put it there with the other, Mr. Re’adh. I will prepare and salt it. I suppose we can have stew for supper. If nobody minds rabbit twice in one day. Which reminds me: did anybody bring a stewing pot?”

  Olam raised his hand; his mouth was full, too. He pointed at Arfael’s huge backpack. The cart-sized pack had a metal pot tied to one of the runners.

  “Well, there we are, then. All set. We may as well go home,” Daric told Grady.

  “Yes, the girl certainly knows her way around a camp,” Grady agreed.

  Gialyn let out a long breath. Not only was he feeling useless, nobody had asked him if he wanted any breakfast. I suppose I should get a fish out of the pack… again!

  Then…

  “Here, I have made yours,” Elspeth told him. Her smile gave him a start. “Come sit by the fire.”

  “Oh… er… thank you, Elspeth.” Gialyn scrubbed his fingers through his hair and wiped his palms on his breeches before sitting down next to her. He picked up the plate Elspeth had made for him. “Fried rabbit and onion, with—” He pointed at a mound of off-white… something or other… on the side of his plate. “Is that bread?”

  “No, silly, that’s moss.”

  “Moss?”

  “Yes. fenna moss. It is a bit like lettuce. It grows all over the Northern Vales, especially close to the mountains. I thought you would know that!” Her response was half-explanation, half-sarcasm.

  “We have only lived here for two years,” Gialyn reminded her. “There’s not much moss in Bailryn.”

  “Of course, yes; you city folk would not know such things. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” she said with a nod. Apparently, she had not understood his tone. That, or she had chosen to ignore it.

  Gialyn picked at the moss, squashed it, sniffed it, and put some in his mouth. It was dry and did taste a bit like lettuce. Or rather, it had the texture of lettuce; it did not taste much of anything. Still, it wasn’t horrible.

  Daric sat by the fire and took the proffered plate from Elspeth. “Look like we won’t be running out of food,” he said. “Three hunters in the pack – we should live like kings. Assuming kings eat rabbit stew, of course.”

  Again, Elspeth beamed under the adulation.

  “Are you a hunter, like your sister?” Grady asked Ealian. “Got any daggers hiding up those sleeves?” He pointed at Ealian’s frilly cuffs.

  “Me? Oh no,” Ealian said. He could barely contain a laugh. Wiping his chin with a napkin he produced from up his sleeve, he said, “I leave that to her. There is enough competition in our house without treading on someone else’s toes.”

  Elspeth shot Ealian a disapproving look, and Grady raised an eyebrow.

  Gialyn was surprised his uncle had not taken the opportunity to dig a little deeper. If there was one thing Grady had a talent for, it was finding other folk’s secrets. He was always asking questions.

  The morning passed quickly. With all the talk, breakfast had taken over an hour. By the time they had finished their food, the sun had risen well into the branches of the tall birch and elm trees. Daric and Grady packed the provisions. Gialyn and Ealian reluctantly tidied up their mess. Olam and Arfael did whatever it was Olam and Arfael did in the morning. Elspeth gathered her cooking things and made her way down to the stream to wash them up.

  * * *

  Kneeling by the bank, Elspeth dipped her dirty breakfast pan into the fast-flowing waters. A quick swish around with a rough cloth was enough to remove the grease. Then she used a lemon brick to finish off. The zesty smell heightened her already happy mood.

  It had been a good morning: snaring two rabbits and a bush pheasant, then cooking breakfast. The others enjoyed her cooking, she was sure of it. Had both Daric and Grady not complimented her? Yes, it had been a good morning. Smiling to herself, Elspeth gathered the plates, packed up her fork and spoon, and was about to leave when she heard a sound like tiny feet pattering about through the thicket behind her.

  Leaning back on her heels, she turned to see what was making the sound – expecting to see a rabbit or maybe a small deer. Nothing, just a few wildberry bushes mingled among patches of nettle and dot-leaf. Shrugging it off as her imaginings, she reached for her pan.

  Then…

  …There it is again! What is that?

  Turning quickly, she stretched her neck and peered over a berry bush. Her jaw dropped and she felt her eyes widen; Olam was sitting by the stream, surrounded by animals.

  Elspeth gulped in astonishment. By the gods, what is he doing? The pan slipped from her grasp, but she managed to save it before it rolled away. Settling her belongings on the ground, she looked again, half expecting to see the animals gone, scared by the noise of the clattering pan.

  Olam was sitting cross-legged with his hands resting on his knees, palms up. His eyes were half-closed and his head tilted back. Slowly, he opened his eyes and smiled at the creatures gathered around him. A rabbit sat in the nook of his hip; a tree fox lay sprawled on its side in front of him; a deer idly watched from across the stream, and – if Elspeth was not seeing things – small fish had gathered in a catch pool. They were “looking” at Olam. What was going on?

  Something moved. Elspeth clamped her hand over her mouth as a huge timber wolf nosed its way into the small clearing. The great grey beast hesitated a moment, sniffing the air. Maybe it was confused; it did not look ready to pounce, which is what Elspeth had expected it to do. She eyed the other animals, thinking they would run off, but none seemed bothered by the ferocious beast in their midst.

  Slowly, Elspeth stood up. She could feel a big, dumb smile spreading over her face. “No wonder he didn’t want rabbit for breakfast,” she muttered. Then suddenly felt ashamed. Gods, I just killed some of them!

  Olam leaned back, his eyes following the wolf as it made a small circle around him. Elspeth shuddered when Olam noticed her. He smiled gently and waved her over.

  Is he kidding? I’m not going over there with that wolf! She shook her head and gave a nervous smile while anxiously gesturing towards the wolf.

  “It is all right, child. They will not hurt you. I promise.” He beckoned her again.

  Slowly, and as quietly as she could, Elspeth stepped over the pans and plates and crept forward. The wolf turned and stared. She froze, but then relaxed. Something abo
ut the look in the wolf’s eye – he appeared no more dangerous than the little deer. Again, she crept forward, gently pushing branches out of her path as she made her way to the clearing.

  She stopped two paces short. Far enough, I think. Quietly, she crossed her legs and sat.

  One of the rabbits came to her and nestled itself in the pit she made with her crossed legs. Looking down, she could not help a weak laugh. The rabbit circled around in her lap and came to rest with its head lying on her calf. She gave the little creature a tickle behind the ear. Still laughing, she raised an eye to the other animals.

  The smile dropped. She felt her lip trembling. The wolf was moving towards her.

  Elspeth gazed in terror at Olam. No! Not this. The rabbit is fine, but not this!

  As if hearing her thoughts, the wolf stopped. It crouched down on all fours and lowered its head almost to the ground, then inched closer, one paw at a time. Nervously, Elspeth put out her hand. When the wolf reached her, it lay on its side, waiting for her to stroke its belly – just like the neighbours’ dog would do. Elspeth scratched under the wolf’s chin. The animal groaned with pleasure and twisted onto its back.

  Gods, he’s just like Felix.

  Elspeth looked up at Olam.

  “How?”

  “It is a blessing.”

  Olam’s voice was flat as if those four words were explanation enough.

  They were not.

  Elspeth heard a noise, and Gialyn came dashing through the brush. When he saw the wolf in front of her, he froze.

  The wolf raised its head, and then quickly ran off to the east. The other animals disappeared just as quickly, darting off in all directions. The rabbits scurried under the wildberry bushes, the deer leaped back over the stream and disappeared behind a line of trees, and the fox spun in a circle before following the rabbits. Even the fish were gone.

  “Gialyn!” Elspeth stood, glaring at him.

  “What? What did I do?”

  Slowly, Olam stood. Brushing the leaves from his cloak, he said, “Soft footsteps are what is needed in a forest, my boy.”